Snow Much Fun? Not!

We got a lot of snow today. Not all of the 16 inches that you see in the first picture, but that was the grand total of snow in the back yard this evening when I measured. I'm guessing we got 8-10. Lots of schools were closed, events were cancelled and some businesses closed. Not ours!!! Ugh. I went to work 8-12 and the commute was UGLY! I live 1.6 miles from work and was ready to turn around and come back home. Yep, it was bad. Road weren't even plowed in town yet. When I got home after work, I had to stomp through the deep snow to get in the house(thank goodness for my Uggs!). I fed the boys, then shoveled from the house out towards the street. After Kevin got home he shoveled more, then our neighbor boy used his 4-wheeler to clear out the end of the driveway where the plow had blocked us in/out. Yeah! However, all that shoveling now means super sore muscles all over my body. Ugh. At least we have both vehicles in the driveway. Whew! I feel like a human popsicle after being out shoveling twice and playing with the boys. They love snow! Jack even got a walk tonight! Lucky dog!

I love the puppy paw prints in the snow.

I always shovel a path through the yard for the boys. I made a big rectangle and the snow is about as deep as Jack is tall. Riley and Jack chase each other or hunker down and play hide 'n seek with each other in the pathway. At one point Riley jumped in the middle of the deep snow and I thought he was going to be buried. He basically "swam" his way back to the path. LOL!

Jack is a goofball that leaps in the deeper parts. I did not shovel a path in the right half of the yard as I was whooped doing just the rectangle on the left side. Silly boy doesn't care where Momma shovels...he hops like a rabbit wherever! LOL!

Even though it is cold out, the icicles were dripping today. There is one that has to be four feet long hanging just outside our big front window. The front gutter is full of ice and I am praying it can hold up until everything melts. *crosses fingers* Woo hoo! I see pavement in this picture. That was after the plow came and it was almost dark then! Cars have been going by faster now.

I shoveled a path to our front porch from the driveway so the mailman could get to the mailbox. It's now 6:30pm and I don't think we even have mail yet! Maybe the carriers got a snow day off? Who knows. I am so grateful the neighbor boy plowed out the drive. The roads are finally visible, but we are expecting more snow tonight. Oh what fun....NOT! At least I won't get stuck at the end of my driveway tomorrow morning like I did this morning. That was not fun! I think I said "oh my God" out loud (yeah, sorry mom) when I got stuck then saw cars coming from both directions yet couldn't move up or back. I floored it and spun. Then I floored it again with all my might and by golly got back in the drive. Then I gunned it and got out into the street. I don't like driving in this mess! Can ya tell? LOLLLLLL!

Think I'll have an Advil now and rest. hee hee

Little Devils

Here's another page I made at Connie's, but just now journaled. These two sure are little devils. The photos say it all!! *click any pic for a closer look* Thanks for stopping by!

And, on a side note: Irene is being buried in Morehead, KY at the family cemetery on Sunday. Our family will have a private viewing here locally on Friday evening. Thanks again for your many thoughts and prayers. She sure was a special lady. :)

Today's blessings:

Groceries (ooh and Yoplait on sale for 3/$1!!!)

Warm house

Jack going in his kennel without being told!

Mom lovingly stopping by work with a fresh frosted cookie from the bakery and having me fill my gas tank...her treat! :)

Getting to stamp at work! (making more sympathy cards for the office)

The gentle snowfall outside. The yard looks like it was sprinkled with glitter! Gorgeous!

Top Ten

Top Ten Things I Love About Riley
1. His soft little paws.
2. The brindle color of his fur.
3. The way he looks at me when he's sleepy.
4. The way he fits in my arms just right.
5. His little whimpers that tell me he needs or wants something.
6. The happy dance he does at each and every meal.
7. I secretly love his ornery side. He loves to steal slippers!
8. I love the way he snuggles next to me in bed. He either lays right on top of my leg or by my back.
9. He has such a playful side. He loves all his toys and really loves to play with his big brother Jack.
10. What I love most about Riley is the simple blessing of how his little life has helped heal a very BIG spot in my heart!

*click any pic for a closer look*

I layered two pieces of solid cardstock and the Jenni Bowlin patterned/shaped paper. The photo is adhered using Stampin' Dimensionals so it would lay nicely over the felt ribbon.

The Top Ten was cut out using the Cricut cartridge Graphically Speaking. The rest of the title was added using tiny black rub-on letters. I love those things!

I added some felt ribbon, flower and brads. Each brad has a silver washer under it for some contrast.

Goodbye Irene

It's 9:22pm Sunday night. Connie just called. Irene passed away just minutes ago. Connie told her she was there, that everyone loved her and that she could go. And, she did. :(

Eskie Peek-a-Boo

After several sad posts about Irene, I thought we could all use a bit of Eskie humor to brighten our day...compliments of my adorable Jack! Isn't he a doll baby?! LOL!

I have been cleaning like a mad woman today and I can already tell that I will pay the price all week! Ouch! I lost count on the loads of laundry. I am doing clothes, sheets, blankets, etc. I even cleaned the bathroom again and got the nose prints off the front windows. Supper has been eaten, the boys have been fed, and now the dishes are being done (love having a dishwasher!). I think it's time to head downstairs for some creativity time....or at least to journal the pages I did at Connie's last weekend. That is if I don't fall asleep with the boys first. They haven't had any naps today and are zonked out on the spare bed. hee hee

How about a great song to end this Sunday post? Click HERE then push the arrow on the 3rd version of the song. Enjoy and thanks for stopping by. I praise God that I am a child of the Risen Lord and that my heart is spoken for! :)

Sunday update

Afternoon update:
Irene is receiving Morphine every hour. If anyone touches her she becomes very agitated. Last night she apparently was thrashing in her bed and cut her foot. Connie said today that since Irene is such a classy lady she'd be mortified if she knew how she was acting then. Bless her heart. The infection has apparently taken over and her systems are shutting down. Her white counts are 60,000! They will provide her with comfort care only. Connie said I should just keep doing what I'm doing at home since Irene is in isolation and incoherent. :( Dr. Chawla kept apologizing, but we all know that Irene has suffered long enough and like she always says: "I've had a good life." And, I'll say that my life has been so blessed having known her. It's now just a matter of time until she is gone. Unfortunately, there is nothing that can be done. Just keep us in your prayers, especially Connie.

This was Connie's e-mail at 12:50am:

just got home from the hospital, rough day. Dr. Chawla said basically there is nothing they can do for Irene. Her numbers are high, kidneys are not working. They are giving her morphine every 2 to 4 hours. She's very restless, finally she calmed down & I'm home, going to bed, I'm a little tired. I'll keep you all posted. It's just a waiting game now. Connie

Makes me so sad. I am so glad I saw her on her birthday. I e-mailed Connie to ask if I should come over to see her today and if Irene was coherent at all. I also asked that if she is to "that point", should Hospice care take over and let her pass in peace at home.

Ugh.

Irene update

This was Connie's message this morning via e-mail:

I just talked with her nurse & she was very restless last night, more so than on Thursday. Her sugar is low this morning so giving her some through the IV, tried to get her to drink oj but wouldn't cooperate. Her blood count is up again, not a good sign, they had hoped it would be lower. Dr. Chawla is going to order some more lab work. I'm going up around noon to try & get her to eat something. More later. Connie

This 'N That

Well, Irene has C. Difficile. That is a bacteria that can cause from diarrhea to inflammation of the colon. It is most common in older patients or those in hospitals for long-term care facilities. Irene has been bouncing between the two for a few months now. She is in isolation and highly contagious, so I won't be visiting. She agreed to assisted living, but at this point we have to see how she does day to day. Thanks again for your prayers.

After work tonight I ran to Mansfield to return two clothing items from Christmas and got store credits. I then ran to Joann Fabrics and was thrilled at their sale on paper. Yes, I bought more! I also got some really cute tiny clear stamp sets for $1...some for me and some for others. I have a to-do list started for tomorrow and will see how far I get on that. I hope to finish journaling a page about Riley and make some cards this weekend, as well as design some wedding invitations for Abby (my hair stylist). I hope to post something crafty soon. Unfortunately, my carpal tunnel has been really bad this week and my hands are going numb at odd times. The pain and weakness is from my ear lobes to my fingertips. I know it is all getting worse, but I'm afraid of what the doc would say if I see him. Surgery? EMG testing? Eek. All I did was mop the kitchen earlier this week and it's all gone south since. Ugh. I had a massage with Vickie last night and man did she rub some kinks out! I am super sore today and hope to get a good night's sleep and relax with the help of good 'ol Mr. Flexeril Pill. *sigh*

Until then....night night.

Pray for Irene

My great aunt Irene is 93. I've talked about her on here before. She's just a dandy. Unfortunately for several weeks she has been going between the hospital, nursing home and actually got to go home once for two days. Right now she is back in the hospital with an infection. Her white counts are double the norm and they think she's dehydrated. They have to run tests to determine what kind of infection.

The toughest part is convincing Irene she needs to be in assisted living and simply can't go home right now. She just wants to be home. Who wouldn't? Please pray for her healing and pray for wisdom for the doctors, nurses and family members who care for her and help with major decisions. Please pray for motivation and courage for Irene so she just doesn't get too bummed and give up.

I post things like this here because even if one blog visitor says a prayer, God WILL hear it. Thanks!

'Lil Caramel Blondie

Here's a little story about a pup named Riley. He was one of the cutest pups ever!
This pitiful pup needed a makeover really bad, so...

...he went to get his first haircut at the groomer on Wednesday. He is now sporting a caramel blondie look since his black tips have been cut off. With his brindle coat, he's got such a color variation. He looks like a different dog now with the black tips gone. Awww.....do you like his little red bow? His daddy said he looked like a girl with it. Well, it didn't stay in long, because....

...Jack helped him get rid of the "girly" look. Momma took this picture as Jack was trying to take the bow out....with his teeth! The bow is attached with a tiny rubber band and Momma quickly put the camera down when she saw Riley's hair being yanked! Ouch! Jack said his 'lil bro needs to be a manly dog so he took care of it for him. LOL! Momma is gonna put it in his scrapbook.

This is an odd picture of the 'lil brown weasel. His big bro was sniffing as they ran around the hallway, so momma had to take a quick picture. She was trying to get a pic of his caramel blondie hairdo. Looks pretty soft, huh? Don't let it fool you....his pup hair tangles easily. That's why his momma has to brush him a lot. Oh, do you see big bro in the top left corner...just the nose. LOL! *sniff sniff* He was checking to make sure he was still the same 'lil bro who left looking like a ragamuffin hippie! *sniff* Yep, it was still the same ornery brother!

Riley looks cute coming and going. Like his new bum look? It's all shaped up and shaved, but boy is it cold outside and he wishes for the fur back. He shivered pretty good after being outside with his big bro Wednesday afternoon. They were huntin' for popsicles. I bet their momma will post some pics of two cute 'sicle hunters soon. :) You know what the popsicles are? Icicles that momma knocked down. Yum Yum!

He looks like he's 3 feet long. Check out this slim tike sportin' his snazzy jacket. His momma has to try and find a longer jacket in size "slim" so his bum stays warmer. This vest just isn't cuttin' it in the winter weather and his letterman jacket is short, too. She checked Wally World, but might have to check PetSmart for other styles. He was in the front window scoping out other snazzy pups. Only one came by but she winked at big bro Jack, not him. Riley thought to himself that maybe she could see the wrinkle in his hair where the bow was and thought he was a girl. *snort*

Until next time.................WINK!

So, all you blog fans....did you think I was gettin' my first trim at the groomer? Whether you got the answer right or not momma put your name in the drawing. And the winner by a random drawing of all the names is.....VALERIE! Natalie will mail out your goody box this weekend! Thanks to everyone for guessing and for reading my momma's blog. She likes to share goofy stories. Unfortunately, my big bro and I keep her busy and she misses her craft table time. I guess I better behave now so she can post something crafty next time. Oh wait...it'll be a page about me. *Riley does the happy dance* You know I'm cute, huh? LOL! *wink*

Oh and by the way....I did lose a puppy tooth in the front recently. My momma found out since I stole her light pink slipper and when she found it there were tiny red dots of blood on it. Oops....she noticed that and then noticed my toofer gone. Tee hee! I like to steal slippers! LOL!

Momma is off to get a much-needed massage at Miss Vickie's. She's the best! Ahhhh.....

Postage Stamp Card

I made this card for one of the doctor's birthdays this week. He loves to collect postage stamps and I thought this one would be ideal for him. It's an older stamp I bought years ago at a local stamp convention. I stamped it on watercolor paper using Timber Brown Staz-on ink, then colored it using my Aquapainter and various water-based inks.

To accent the "postage" edge, I punched each indentation with my 1/16" hole punch before cutting along the outer line. The chocolate chip layer was given a quick, easy background by inking randomly with the edge of my ink pad. The chocolate layer as well as the focal piece are adhered using Stampin' Dimensionals. Can you believe I found the twill tape scrap with the linen thread already tied on it? LOL! I save things knowing it's good enough for a future project. Kinda like my mom loves paper scraps! LOL! I get it honest, I guess.

Greetings from Ohio! Hope you enjoyed today's project. Thanks for stopping by!

This is Jack's favorite hiding place. On this particular day, I had said "Jack. Kennel." and he was found here. Turkey! He likes to hide when he knows it's time to get in his kennel. He chose this spot tonight for a barf zone. Yep, he was eating branches outside and decided to urp up his entire supper right there. What is it with puppies and chewing the oddest things? Kevin could barely stand to hand me a plastic bag, the carpet foam cleaner and some paper towels. He doesn't handle barf very well. LOL! So, momma gets that job. I know, I know...kinda gross, but that's my life right now with puppy antics.

Riley will have a surprise for you on Thursday. What do you think it will be? Leave me a comment and from the names listed, I'll draw a winner who will receive a little goody box full of handmade cards, ribbon and some misc. embellishments. Edited: I'll announce the winner here Thursday after 5pm so you can comment until then!

Man's Best Friend

I did this simple layout using a 5x7 pic of Jack. He's so adorable! I cut the title out on the Cricut using the Graphically Speaking cartridge.

I cut out the paws from a sheet of patterned paper with glossy accents.

I added some patterned paper along the left edge, some ribbon, a zig-zag edge on the double-matted photo and his name with tiny white rub-ons. Super simple!

Jack loves to look out the large front window and this side window in our living room. He has the WETTEST pup nose ever! See all the nose marks? LOL! Guess I better go get my Windex! LOL!

Croppin' At Connie's

On Saturday, mom and I went to Connie's for 12 hours to crop! Joan was going to join us, but she headed to Chicago to see her twin grandsons. (She stopped by just to get her new SU! catalog I had picked up for her.) The three of us still managed to hoot and hollar a bit. We always have a great time together. Connie was a very generous hostess with goody bags for each of us and lots of yummy food!
Right before we left I wanted a pic of the three of us, so we snuggled in and I held the camera. Little did I know that in two of the three pics someone was sticking out a tongue. Mom did it once and so did Connie. I think she's really just thinking of the man on her shirt. LOL!

Connie jokes that she is the annex to the local scrapbook store. No joke, she has MORE things than the store. I took just a "sampling" of photos of her goodies. She always generously shares whatever we want. I know I needed kraft cardstock and a dark brown felt Thicker "r" and she had both to share. She also put all of her pet things out for us to "use what we wanted". How nice. This shelf is just ONE area of paper. The entire left shelving unit here is just Christmas items. Wowza!

This container has just GLITTER brads in all colors and sizes. Yum! Gotta love glitter!

Under her 8-foot table she has these great storage containers on wheels. Just pull out the one you need and take it back to your craft area. She has a WHOLE container of self-adhesive bling. Double Wowza! Yum!

This picture doesn't do it justice to see how many layers of bling there are in this container.

Need paints or Stickles? Check! She's got it! LOL!

Just a FEW stamps. LOL!

A mere sampling of the ribbon collection. I also see a container below with rolls and there is another large glass jar full of spooled ribbons that isn't shown here. Mmm....mmm...good!

The unique, sturdy cabinet holds her SU! 8 1/2 x 11 cardstock and her collection of punches.

She has now organized all her letter stickers by color group in these nice three-compartment sleeves from Cropper Hopper. She did her rub-ons by color, too, and they are in one of the containers above on wheels. She has a whole container of Thickers....yep, just Thickers....ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Connie's granddaughter and daughter-in-law joined us for a few hours. This was Leesha's artwork she made before completing several scrapbook pages. She is a creative young girl! She has her own Cropper Hopper cart full of supplies she can use when she scraps with MeMaw.

Ah and Connie never lets us go hungry or have sweet tooth attacks. She feeds us goodies of all kinds! Glad I wore elastic-waisted pants. *snort*

Hmmm...if you know the history of our Zaney Girls crops, you know the mischief involved. This crop was no less ornery. This hilarious item was secretly placed near the stamp sets and Connie had the remote. Look a little closer. LOL! She really needs to do something about those huge barking spiders in her basement! *snort* Now I know why she gave us a Depends undergarment in our goody bag (seriously!). We're giggly, but don't really need them. She's so silly. LOL!

Oh, and yes...we did scrapbook. More layouts to share this week. Check back tomorrow for one about Man's Best Friend. :)

I can't wait to go to the Craft Farm in March with mom, Connie and Joan! I'm counting the weeks!

Happy Birthday

I started making this card early Wednesday morning and finished it Wednesday night. It's insane that I am up that early most days now. I don't consider myself a morning person. :)

I used paper and cardstock stickers from a retired SU! scrappin' kit and added a few doo-dads and some paper piercing.

Instead of wrapping the ribbon around the card front, I created a larger slot punch to thread the ribbons through. Just a different way to tie the ribbon. It wasn't my idea. I saw it somewhere way back when....probably in the SU! catalog or online.

Does this look like an innocent face? Well, let me tell you....it's a hairy monster under the spare bed. LOL! Jack has been crawling under the spare bed for a while. It wasn't until Wednesday night that I discovered his little playground under there. I heard a sound like ripping paper and...

...once he moved I saw the packets of photos that slid out from a bag. Ah ha! He was ripping the photo envelopes and having a hay day under there. Turkey boy! Ah...the endless adventures of having puppies here! :) Love it! Guess that means I REALLY need to organize all my photos in one "puppy-proof" place. I've had that idea on my to-do list for forever. *sigh*

Wednesday Jabber

It is another snowy day here. I only worked 'til noon. I ventured to the photo store and got some prints for scrapbooking. I slid home, shoveled, slid back to pick them up and then I went by Wendy's to get Joan and Connie's new SU! catalogs. (insert evil laugh) Hee hee I'm gonna drool on every page, then deliver it to them Saturday. Mmmmm.....LICK! Hee hee Since I'm not a demonstrator anymore, they have a new "drug dealer". LOL! Stamps are the best drug! LOL!

I played in the snow with Festus (aka Riley) and Elroy (aka Jack) for a while. They ran, played and ate sticks. I swear they are pure pup through and through....everything has to go in the mouth! Argh! Riley was matted with snow from head to toe and underneath. He wore his new letterman's jacket so he was warm for a bit at least. He created paths in the snow with his little rowdy body as he chased Jack. Jack is faster than lightning out there! He's so strong and runs everywhere.....lovin' every minute! I had my boots on and acted....uh, about age 12 for a while. I'm a kid at heart and always will be! I took a ton of pictures....mostly of moving animals blurred with the snow, but a few turned out. Silly boys! Silly Momma, too!
Now that I have licked the SU! catalog, it's time for a little creative scrappin'. I'm heading downstairs to plan pages for Saturday's crop or maybe to even finish some pages while I plan. I tend to do that. Stay warm and yes, I know...I need to post something crafty real soon or my whole blog fan club will vanish....what few visitors I might still have. LOL! Love ya!

Wanted to share the good news that Irene is doing better today! Praise God!